klunk.org » Music Technology

Turn your Netbook into a Moog / ARP Clone for FREE!

GaryJudge — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:56:51 +0000

I have been experimenting further with my Acer Aspire One Netbook to uncover its music making potential and have struck gold!

To turn your Netbook into a Mini Moog / ARP 2600 clone head on over to:

http://glenstegner.com/softsynths.html

and download either or both of these wonderful free soft synths. The real beauty of these synths is that they are lightweight by todays standards and can be run standalone.

With the software downloaded and extracted all you need to do is set up your ASIO device (ASIO4ALL seems to work pretty well in this instance) and MIDI settings. I personally have tested this with my Novation X-Station and can report latency free playing with the CPU meter maxing at around 20% and averages at around 9-13%.

Out of the two instruments the MiniMogueVA works slightly better with the limitations of the Netbook screen resolution. To get the most out of it you should turn off the on screen keyboard so that you can see all of the parameters.

Above is a screen grab from my Netbook running Windows 7 and MiniMogueVA.

ENJOY!

Using Video as Music Composition Tool in Ableton Live

GaryJudge — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:38:11 +0000

With my Muvi digital camcorder I decided to capture some footage on the London Underground with the intention of maybe taking some of the interesting elements and using them within a video to accompany an existing piece of music. However when I started importing the clips into Ableton Live I quickly realised that it is possible to edit the video like audio clips. This then got me thinking that I could create a piece of music inspired by the video clips and using the sound as a musique concrète source. Here is the video of said experiment:

What I learned from this experiment was:

The music and video components need to be edited independently of one another so that they stand up on their own
Composing visual elements helped me to build a basic structure to the music a lot quicker than starting with a blank arrange window
Ableton Live can stretch video easily to get things in time
Using the source audio from the video with added FX adds another layer of detail to the music

Netbook + Rebirth = Acid heaven!

GaryJudge — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:37:39 +0000

I really love my netbook. Its tiny, powerful enough to run Windows XP well and can run various music programs well enough to enjoy whilst travelling. I thought I would put together some pointers for getting Rebirth 383 to run on your Windows XP netbook, being as it may not be be entirely obvious how to get it to install and run (especially if you do not have a cd drive attached at all times).

First off I recommend that you download the wonderful and free Daemon Tools:
http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/downloads

This little utility enables you to run an ISO image as if it were a physical CD. A reboot will be required during the installation, so do that when prompted to.

Next up download Rebirth 383 (this will require registration but entirely worth it):
http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/

Once downloaded right click on the Daemon Tools icon in the system tray and mount a drive. Select the ISO file and then look in My Computer where you should have the Rebirth CD loaded. Install Rebirth following the on screen steps (a bunch of Nexts from memory). The last thing you need to remember is that the virtual CD needs to be loaded when attempting to run the application, otherwise you will be asked to insert the disc.

A higher state of consciousness here we come!!!

Sorbet Punk Console in action.

GaryJudge — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:21:16 +0000

Here is a short video of the Sorbet Punk Console in action. I have been looking at some additional modifications to the basic instrument. Watch this space…

DIY Electronics – The Sound of Sorbet

GaryJudge — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:42:33 +0000

: Sorbet Punk Console

Here is my first attempt at DIY electronic music making devices – the Sorbet Punk Console.

I ordered this wonderful kit from http://www.getlofi.com/?p=1462 bought myself a soldering iron, some solder and got to making the Sorbet Punk Console following the pretty straight forward instructions (even for a complete beginner like me). Having spent around an hour and around £20 I decided that a sorbet container was the perfect housing for my first project. This is mainly because the plastic is so easy to chop through and the plastic case I had bought really needed drilling (necessecity - the mother of invention). I decided to deviate from the original kit and purchased a mini switch so that I could generate continuous tones without having to hold down a trigger button. This cost me less than £2 from Maplins.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this certainly is an item of true beauty and capable of similarly beautiful 8bit stepped tones. I would heartily recommend buying this kit as a way into DIY electronic noise machines being as the results are impressive given the small amount of effort and money required.

Punk Console tones from GetLoFi.com